The county executive's budget plan calls for the shutdown of Pulaski and Noyes pools on the northwest side -- the county's only two indoor pools.

But now, some Pulaski Pool regulars are jumping into the fight to save it. They said for many in the neighborhood, there's no other option.

"The choices would be expensive. For the low-income, middle-income people, it would be hard. The Y is not cheap; it's further away. I prefer this one," Braunreiter said.

"It makes no sense to me," Klang said.

"But if it happens, what do you do?" WISN 12 News reporter Kent Wainscott asked.

"Nothing, I don't know. I'll have to find a place to swim, and I don't even know where there's a place to swim anymore," Klang said.

The debate goes deeper than the pools. It's about tax dollars funding older facilities with high maintenance costs.

"We have a lot more that we could be spending the money on, so I think pools are not top priority right now," taxpayer A.J. Kisley said.

"Well, I grew up going to Pulaski Pool, so I would haTe to see Pulaski Pool close. But I mean, everybody has got to save money, I guess," taxpayer Bill Zellner said.

Those hoping to save the pool know they may be swimming upstream.

"We pray that they don't close this swimming," swimmer Guillermina Kasperczak said.

The two pools are slated to close Jan. 1.

In a statement to WISN 12 News, County Executive Chris Abele said the indoor pools are outdated, expensive to run and require millions of dollars of repairs. He said they are used by a declining number of people.

The Milwaukee County Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget Nov. 4 at the War Memorial.

The full county board will vote on the budget Nov. 12.

The budget then goes to Abele for his signature.

If Abele vetoes anything, supervisors will meet Nov. 21 to take up those vetoes.